Latest CPA ballot effort nixed in Freetown

Only days after a town resident was launching a campaign to land the Community Preservation Act on the November election ballot, the CPA committee wants to nix that effort for this year.

Jeffrey D. Wagner

Only days after a town resident was launching a campaign to land the Community Preservation Act on the November election ballot, the CPA committee wants to nix that effort for this year.

CPA Committee Treasurer Joseph Montour said the committee still wants to pursue the adoption of CPA in Freetown, but now might not be the time.

Last week, Montour told selectmen that voters in November will be asked to approve technology upgrades within the Freetown-Lakeville School District. The upgrades will not lead to a tax increase but will impact taxpayers’ savings. Recently, the district refinanced on debt it owes for rehabilitating the high school building and constructing a new middle school 10 years ago.

As a result of the refinancing, a Freetown homeowner with a house valued at $250,000 is now paying approximately $19 less per year. If the technology upgrades move forward, that savings would be diminished to $3 per year.

Town Meeting in Freetown and Lakeville approved that initiative going before voters on the November election ballot.

Montour said it is unlikely that taxpayers will approve two items connected to taxes. He also said that taxpayers need to learn more about CPA and its benefits.

Voters at a Town Meeting last year approved it, which placed it on the election ballot in April. However, 337 voters rejected CPA and 316 approved it.

Two months later in June, the item was tabled before voters could discuss it.

Montour said voters need to learn how CPA has operated in other communities and how much taxpayers in those communities have spent.

He said the CPA must research this and bring it before voters, but there might not be enough time before November.

Montour also said that voters are likely awaiting the results of the presidential election and the direction of the economy before voting on something that would increase taxes.

If the town had voted to adopt CPA, the assessment would be 1 percent of the assessed home value minus $100,000, or $22 per year for the average Freetown homeowner, according to CPA proponents.

“Low- to moderate-income homeowners would be eligible for a full exemption as will all businesses,” CPA committee member Nicole DeTerra wrote in a letter to residents.

DeTerra said based on those numbers, along with money from the state, Freetown would net $79,000 during its first year under CPA.

DeTerra, who was leading a petition, says residents can still sign and the signatures will be for the next vote.

“We will do a cost analysis and compare it to how CPA funds will help get the job done. This, along with education, will help folks see the benefit for Freetown. Your efforts have been extremely helpful and I have actually run into some people that ‘already signed’ ... — so whoever was out there...Thanks. You can send me signatures you have collected or put them in a safe place, we will use them in the spring. My address is 61 Malbone Rd Assonet 02702,” she wrote to CPA supporters.